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Post-Battle Recuperation: Uktar 1st-15th After the great battle, the town of Willowdale started its long path to recovery. Most everyone focused on mending the wounded, interring the dead, rebuilding what was destroyed and cleaning up the remains of the Golden Fields. A few Pathfinders, including Kat and Rinzler, left town for at least a few days on their own business. Medal Ceremony & Celebration: Uktar 15th After the arrival of the remainder of the Laurasian army, who were to assist with rebuilding efforts, the Pathfinders were presented with medals by General Wilson. A large party was held to celebrate the victory over the hobgoblins, wherein several Pathfinders, including Ruthea and Enrique, became quite drunk. Halstein gathered several bards, including Calmex, and hired them to compose songs and tales about the great battle. Meanwhile, Valconey discussed the properties of the major items the Pathfinders retrieved from the battlefield, and many of these items were claimed. A fight nearly broke out when Jura introduced Noemia to Rahzer'ok. Halstein was surprised by the gnoll, and half-drew his sword, claiming that the "wolf-bitten" would betray them all. At this, Noemia immediately drew a dagger in defense of her new friend. Meanwhile, Rahzer'ok attempted to explain that he had been "trained" and is now civilized, as evidenced by his understanding of currency and his ability to read. It was quickly determined that Halstein had mistaken Rahzer'ok for a werewolf, and Jura had to explain to him that gnolls are an entirely different, non-contagious creature. Halstein, placated for the moment, warned Noemia never to draw a weapon on him again. Placing herself between the two of them, Jura excused Noemia's action as an attempt to defend a friend, but later instructed her student to be much more careful when drawing her weapon in the future. (Special Note: if you missed the session, please feel free to add a line about whether your character was at the party and what they were doing.) Tomb of the Storm King: Uktar 16th-19th Enrique, Gorgoroth, Alejandra, Ruthea, and Halstein headed north to check on the orcs of the Sawtooth Vale. Instead, they stumbled across the Shrine to Thunderbird and the Tomb of the Storm King while exploring Deepen Dale. Gorgoroth attempted to carve a message to Kat on the Shrine, but was stopped by Halstein. Both Halstein and Alejandra protested that such an action would be disrespectful. Halstein further made offerings at the shrine, including meat and three pounds of Adamantine. Leaving the Shrine, a large bird was spotted flying overhead. The Pathfinders took this as a sign from the Thunderbird, and followed it to the Tomb of the Storm King, sealed with a giant rock. Halstein sundered the stone and the Pathfinders squeezed through. Inside was found a room worked through with a powerful lighting trap. This trap was disabled by covering the floor with a piece of cloud from the Storm King's flying castle, carried by Gorgoroth. The Pathfinders soon discovered a teleportation portal, which took them to a room decorated with bloodflowers, and containing a chest and another portal. The Pathfinders each pricked their hands on the bloodflowers' thorns. Finding that this did not appear to affect the portal, they opened the chest. This contained, among other items, a key marked with a thunderbolt. Carrying the key, Gorgoroth walked through the portal. It was discovered that this took him to another room in the complex, but also struck him with powerful lightning. The Pathfinders decided to accept this cost and continue through several similar rooms. Eventually, they found themselves in a larger room carpeted in a thin layer of silver coins and decorated with statues wearing bronze breastplate. This room appeared to have been built by some primitive group that the Storm King had defeated. Halstein took charcoal rubbings of carvings on the wall and several bronze breastplates, and the Pathfinders collected the silver. Finally, they were brought to a room containing the body of a beautiful young woman, a giant, surrounded by flowers and preserved with Gentle Repose. Markings in the room identified the woman as a love of the Storm King, and entreated any visitors "to leave the sparkle in her eyes." The Pathfinders therefore decided against disturbing the body in any way or taking any of the items arrayed with her. In this room, the Pathfinders located an exit, and returned to Willowdale. Post-Battle Reconnaissance: Uktar 20th-23rd Dr. Haiduc, Kat, and Jura with Alyenna headed out to survey the extended effects of the battle. They set out on the 20th and ended their day at the Well of Nechtan, which they discovered was an entryway to an extensive, albeit ruined, sewer system. They found there a minor ooze, which may have been acting as a water purification system, and a small item cache. After their explorations, they spent the night in a small but comfortable cottage which Dr. Haiduc summoned. On the 21st, they travelled by cart across the Southern Badlands to check on the hobgoblin camp; on the way, they inspected the ogre cave and found it empty. When they arrived at the camp, it appeared to be almost entirely evacuated. However, a small group of Centurions was encountered cooking a meal in a corner of the camp. They did not react to the approach of the Pathfinders, and when questioned said they intended to quietly stay at the camp, since they had nowhere else to go: the approach of the Cinder Man had scattered the southern legions, and they could not return there. Jura and Dr. Haiduc both felt a strong urge to further punish those responsible for the Battle of Willowdale, but neither had the stomach to kill a group that appeared unprepared to defend themselves. The two left discussing possible curses for later use. The group then travelled north to visit the Firewalkers via Dr. Haiduc's Boots of Teleportation. There they were able to communicate at least the importance, if not the full meaning, of a border treaty to the lead shaman and obtain his mark on a draft prepared by General Wilson. The tribe appeared in very good spirits, and some of the remnants of the Barking Wilder and Skull-Taker packs were noticed to have been adopted into the Firewalker tribe. Kat enjoyed playing a game that involved teams of goblins stacked four or more high who then attempted to push each other over, and Jura recruited six goblins as druidic initiates for the Golden Fields druid circle. On the morning of the 22nd, Dr. Haiduc brought the treaty back to Willowdale via Teleportation and retrieved breakfast from the Boar & Thistle, which was shared with the goblins, who appeared to particularly enjoy a spicy stew. The Pathfinders then left for Limnol Lake, where they used the River Queen to travel quickly down the River Dawn to the Ravenswood Druid Circle. Upon arrival, the area appeared empty and the houses abandoned. Footprints of a large or huge-sized humanoid creature were found, having seared the vegetation as they went. When the stone circle was approached for investigation, a hidden trap activated, summoning three bodak. Dr. Haiduc, possessing the cart at the time, rose into the air, carrying with him Kat and Alyenna; Jura, whose approach had activated the trap, remained on the ground. Jura was touched by the bodak's death gaze, but luckily was able to Death Ward herself in time to avoid the full lethality of their glare. She engaged the creatures on foot while the others attacked from the air with summoned beasts, hexes, and the Litany of the Dead. During the battle, Alyenna was also struck by a bodak's gaze as she attempted to get a clear shot at them. After the bodak were destroyed, animal footprints were discovered heading in the direction of the Elven Watchtower in Ravenswood. The footprints stopped shortly before the tower, but a message in Druidic was discovered inside, reading "The Circle is broken. Gone to Sawtooth Vale." The Pathfinders slept at the watchtower, returning to Willowdale via Teleportation on the 23rd to recieve emergency assistance in the casting off the lingering effects of the bodak's glare. Through the assistance of Calmex Igulan's bardic music, Ballantino's Protection from Evil, and liberal use of protective magic and items from both Jura and Dr. Haiduc, the effect was shaken off without permanent damage. Training Montage and the Treasure of the Lost Adventurers: Uktar 24th-Nightal 4th On the 24th of Uktar, upon Rinzler's return to Willowdale from his visit to Highcombe, a party was formed consisting of him, Ru, Jura and Kat. Though Jura was concerned about visiting the Sawtooth Vale to check on the status of the Ravenswood druids, Rinzler adamantly refused to travel there, due to the suspected force of orcs controlling the area and the likelihood of violent encounters with them. Instead, they agreed to explore the submerged Elven Archives before the swamp froze over, as winter was rapidly approaching. After unsuccessfully questioning Crazy Jeb about where he and his fellow adventurers had travelled after departing from the Deepen Dale Tarn, it was decided that the party would first investigate the archives, then head down to the River King to determine whether there was a further clue there as to the direction the adventurers took. Using Valconey's portal, the four teleported to Sosostriss' Tower, from where they began walking towards the Farsang Fens. An encounter with Chickcharney prompted them to take a large detour, leading them to a section of the Great Cedar Forest that had yet to be explored. That night during watch, near the south-western edge of the forest, Jura noticed a small light which appeared to be coming from a hut in the woods, but decided to wait until morning to investigate it. On the morning of the 25th, the Pathfinders investigated the hut noticed by Jura in the night and discovered it to be a small, round building of mud and thatch, built for halfling size. While they tried to get the attention of whomever was inside, a strange rocky shape appeared beside Jura. The rock resolved into a short, hairy man, who began beating the druid repeatedly with a short stick. After getting him to stop, he introduced himself as Korred of Korred, a trainer of warriors, and proceeded to make the four show him their skill with borrowed weapons, on threat of more beatings. After the demonstration, he was moderately impressed with Jura and Ru, and invited them all in for porridge. He offered training to the four, and while Jura and Ru were interested in the offer, Rinzler was not, and stated quite bluntly that he would not stay there for the duration. The group carried on, promising to return in the future for training. The four travelled north, and quickly reached the archives. After ascertaining that its crocodilian guardian was no longer around, Ru used her Dust of Dryness to prevent the archives from filling with water when the door was opened. The door was easily pushed aside once the water was drained, and revealed behind it a large, dimly lit room with shelves of clay and stone tablets, carved with all manner of information. A second room followed, similarly filled with shelves, as well as a stone willow tree, enchanted so that illusory leaves continually fell gently from its branches. The tree had around it a summoning circle, set to activate should any of the tablets in the room be touched or removed. Working together, the Pathfinders deactivated the trap temporarily, but such that it would be many days before it would reactivate. Further investigation into the archives revealed two antichambers, each containing a jade statue of an elf. One was of a male elf labelled "The Archivist", who was holding a book, and the other was a female elf holding a bow and a wand, assumed to be his wife. Both rooms were set to summon a huge water elemental should the chamber be entered, but the Pathfinders only triggered the trap in the Archivist's room. Hidden between the antichambers and the main archive room were the tombs of a male elf and a female elf, quite likely those whose statues stood in the rooms outside. The archivist's tomb had a trap set on it to teleport traspassers back out into the Fens; Rinzler activated this trap, and was forced to dodge a shambling mound and some will-o-wisps on his trek back to the archives. The others avoided the traps, investigated the sarcophogi and found a few magical treasures within. With the entire building explored and secured, the Pathfinders discussed their next step. Rinzler wished to read and transcribe the contents of the archive, seeing as how the stone tablets would be nearly impossible to transport properly, and Jura and Ru still wished to return to train with Korred. Therefore, the party decided that Rinzler would remain at the archives while the other three returned to Korred's hut to spend the time training. During the next six days, Rinzler tirelessly transcribed the entire contents of the archive, while Ru trained in the use of the katana, and Jura in the use of the boomerang. Kat spent some of the time training in the use of a blowgun, but bored of it after some time. Part of the way through, she decided to pay a visit to the First in order to return his sword that he had lost during the Battle of Willowdale. Flying on Sparkle Pony, she made her way to the Western Rainforest, where she spied several things: a huge, fallen tower of some sort, a large crater, similar to the crevasse in the Northern Badlands, and, above all, a huge copper dragon flying overhead, who ignored her friendly calls and flew quickly away. Approaching the Bone Ziggurat, she landed at the front door and knocked, waiting for a reply. Eventually, she opened the door a crack and called in, sighting a Prismatic Wall protecting the foyer inside. The First himself appeared, phasing through the wall, and greeted Kat. She cheerfully returned his sword, for which he thanked her. There was a short bit of conversation involving the whereabouts of her friends, and then the First gave her a large, lacquered box filled with candy in thanks for the return of his blade. With that, he told her that night was coming and that she should leave, and suggested that she not ever visit at night. Happily she agreed, hopped on Sparkle Pony and returned to Korred's hut. After the completion of their training on the 1st of Nightal, Korred presented the three Pathfinders with fine weapons and sent them on their way. They rejoined with Rinzler, who had finished his task, and the group headed north to the River Dawn, where they used the River Queen to travel west to the River King, which they reached on the 3rd. At its base they found the grave of Sir Frances and, within it, Alhannan's last message for Pierce. While they did not actually climb the monument, they realized that it was actually hollow, and that the tunnels inside likely headed into the Underdark. With message in hand, they continued to follow the river towards the Rheic Shores in order to use the portal within the Pharos Lighthouse, which they reached on the 4th. On their way, they noticed an elven watchtower and a set of ruins that they had missed before, but they decided not to stop to investigate. Upon their arrival, Kat implored the others to wait a distance away so that she could talk to the elemental trapped within the building. Flying up to the top, she told the elemental again her wish to help him and, with all of her past efforts culminating into this attempt, she managed to dispel the magic sealing the fire elemental in the lighthouse. As it disappeared from the plane, it was heard thanking her. With the magics now removed, Rinzler was able to fix the portal unmolested, and the party returned to Willowdale. The group delivered Alhannan's message to Jeb, and upon hearing the words, he silently led them to a hidden cellar and showed them the treasure that the Lost Adventurers had apparently found. As the Pathfinders looked through the chest, Jeb returned upstairs unnoticed; when they went up after him, they found that he had sat down in his chair and quietly passed away.